Shaken Into A New Destiny
by Clockwork's Apperentice
Summary: When Tuckers parents move to Stonetown, they let Danny and Sam come with. And when they see a certain add in the paper and encourage them to do it, well, you have to read it! Danny, Sam, and Tucker's story collided with MBS First book. Danny is the MC
1. Chapter 1

MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY CROSSOVER! YIPPY!

Disclaimer: If I owned MBS, Reynie x Kate would be happening and the series would still be continuing. So I don't own that. If I owned DP, I would've made the last episode be the return of Dan Phantom. So I don't own Danny Phantom, either.

Everyone knows what happened when Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance took the test. Just add Team Phantom, and you get a whole new story.

Tucker Foley, techno-geek, African-American, and a hero's best friend was very angry. His parents want him to go with them to Stonetown. In fact, just to make sure he would go, they said he could invite Sam and Danny. He was still mad about it, though.

Tucker was a nice guy. He wore a red beret, a yellow tee that had sleeves that reached his elbows. His cargo pants were a dark forest green. He wore rectangular glasses that emphasized his 'geek' status.

He glanced at the PDA in his hands sadly. "No electronics," him mom had said. Tucker sighed as he set it down on his desk. Grunting, he lifted up his suit case, wishing he was as athletic as Sam. He made it half way down stairs when he heard a knock on the door.

Tucker speed up, tossed the suitcase on the couch, and ran to the door. When he opened it, he saw two familiar faces. Danny, his best friends since kindergarten, was in his signature white and red tee. His light blue jeans bagged up by his tennis shoes, which were also red and white. A blue suitcase with a NASA rocket was by his left leg. The raven haired male blinked his icy blue eyes when he saw his best friend sweating.

Sam, his friend-that's-a-girl, was in her usual out fit. Black tank that ended a bit past her rib cage, black and green skirt, and combat boots. Her black hair, as usual, was up in a half-pony. She had on her spider backpack and a black and purple suitcase. She was smiling widely.

"Hey, Tuck. See you got some exercise." The Goth joked. Tucker rolled his teal eyes as he opened the door and letting his friends in. Sam went and sat down on a cream colored chair, who was followed by Danny, who had sat down a cushion away from Tucker's suitcase. "When do we leave?"

Tucker placed his hands into his pockets and locked eyes with Sam. "A few minutes. My parents should be ready any minute." When Sam nodded, Tucker asked a question he had wanted to ask. "Why are you so happy about this? We are leaving for a new town and a new school. And we're going to be there a _whole year._"

Sam stared at the techno-geek with a mixture of shock, concern, but mostly, humor. "I'm happy because I can give the school this!" She pulled off her spider backpack, opened it, and showed him a piece of yellow construction paper. It read: "Don't let school rule you! Be yourself! Protest against animal abuse and carnivores!" Tucker had a panicked look on his face when read the last part, but didn't say anything.

"Tucker, son, we're ready!" His father called. Tucker glanced back, expecting to see his father, but when he didn't, he sighed, grabbed his suitcase, lightly kicked Danny's foot, and headed out to the car. Danny and Sam quickly pursued him.

One month later…

Sam sat in the living room, bored out of her mind. The school didn't like her ideas! There was nothing different from this school to Casper High. It was early morning and she had gotten up to wake up Danny, but when she didn't see the ghost hybrid in his room, she decided to do something she hasn't done for a while. Read the paper.

The Goth skipped all the main stories, those just bored her. Instead, she set about reading adds and fillers. She was reading an add for Haundas when Mrs. Foley came in.

Mrs. Foley had a soft spot for Sam. She was a nice girl and a great friend of her beloved son. So, when she saw an add on the back of the paper, she thought that would be perfect for her, her son, and Danny.

"Sam, look here." She mentioned kindly, twisting the paper and flipping it over to reveal the add. Sam leaned inward to read the add, when she finished, she smiled brightly.

"Let's do it!"

~*~ Thirty minutes later ~*~

Danny and Tucker entered the kitchen. Danny had just gotten back from an invisible patrol and wanted some breakfast. Tucker, he was just too bored without his PDA. Sam tossed him the paper with the add circled in red pen. When Tucker saw it, he shook his head. "Nuh-uh. We have enough tests at school! Do we have to?"

Danny, confused by what has Tucker upset and Sam excited, snatched the paper. Reading it, he said, "Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" He glanced up at Tucker, then shifted his gaze to Sam. Smiling, he have a shrug. "I don't see why not."

But Danny had his suspicions. What adds were addressed to kids? As far as he knew, the only reason he even _glimpsed_ at a paper was if the headline was, "DANNY PHANTOM SAVES KID FROM GHOST BUG," or, "INVISO-BILL TAKES DOWN A GHOST FOX!"

The Halfa looked down at his first test. It was weird. Asking questions about his personal life. Sure at first it was normal, asking math question, but then it got weird.

"Do you like to watch TV?" Was the first strange question. Danny didn't know how to answer that. Sure, he liked to. That doesn't mean he _could_. Most nights, he was out way past curfew chasing ghosts. So he simply put, "Yes, but I don't."

The next confused him more. "Do you like to listen to the radio?" Danny instantly put, "No." Why would he? He can't and never has, sure there was that one time with Youngblood and Ember, but he did it for a (hopeful) shot at popularity. And to save his parents.

The third wasn't as odd. "What is wrong with this statement?" Danny, hoping to gain a laugh or two from whomever was grading, put "What statement?"

The next page had a picture of a chessboard. All the pawns were in their place but a black on that was forward by two spaces. The question read, "According to the rules of chess, is this position possible?" Since Danny had _no clue _how to play chess, he put "Anything's possible."

The last was the worst. "Are you brave?" God, yeah. He fought ghosts on a daily basis. He sent Pariah back to sleep. He fought the Fright Knight on Halloween. Heck, he defeated a him with ten more years of experience, and was evil, and came back alive. True, Clockwork helped… but he couldn't put those on the test. Danny Fenton was a shy, clumsy, nerdy guy. Phantom was heroic, BRAVE, and courageous. Thinking it over, he settled on this, "I would like to think so."

Then he turned his test in.

Tucker glanced around his testing room. Danny was a row and two seats away, calmly completing his first test. The first few questions had been easy enough. But now, it was asking if he liked television. Who doesn't like TV? He was about to put "Duh" when, he halted. Sure, he liked to watch it, but he was always so busy helping Danny. And so, he unknowingly wrote the same answer Danny had put.

The next question was just as… weird. "Do you like to listen to the radio?" Oh, please! Who does that anymore? It's all about the PDAs and iPods now. He put, "No."

The third gave the techno-geek a bit of comfort. "What is wrong with this statement?" Easily, he put, "That isn't a statement! That's a question!"

Next was a picture of a chessboard. As Danny's, the black pawn was forward two spaces. "Is this position possible?" Tucker gave a quiet and unnoticeable laugh. "I don't know a thing about chess. I simply say 'yeah' because I feel like it!" (Tucker was very hyper that day, sorry if any of them are OOC)

Then came the mind-thinker. "Are you brave?" Tucker frowned at this question. Was he brave? Danny would say so, so would his parents. But was he, really? He stared at this question, long and hard. Hoping it was okay, he put, "I don't know."

Then he turned in his test.

Sam was seated next to a girl with a long, blonde ponytail. She seemed nice… but she was a bit too preppy. Ignoring her, she turned to her test. "Do you watch like to watch TV?" Instantly, Sam answered no. And she put the reason. "I am too busy making animal abuse protests to care about TV." 'And too busy helping Danny,' she added mentally.

Then came the question, "Do you like to listen to the radio?" Again, she put no. "No, I don't. Although, I did make a radio station one time with one of my pals, Tucker Foley."

"What is wrong with this statement?" Sam understood it instantly. They were trying to trick her. "Don't try to trick me. That's a question and you know it!" she posted.

The last, but in no way least, question came. "Are you brave?" She thought she was. After all, her, Danny, and Tucker fought ghosts on a daily basis. But, she backtracked. She never was truly afraid of any of the ghosts they had fought, with an exception of Pariah. So, she put, "Well, you must have a reason for asking that. I assume you want us to be brave. But, I'm here to say, that unless I don't pass, you'll have to wait and see."

Danny sat on a park bench, watching two girls chat. One had crazy green hair and a fluffy white dress. She was tossing her pencil carelessly up in the air, catching it each time.

It was twenty minutes until they were aloud to enter and take the second part of the test. So, if the girl dropped the pencil into the drain she was standing on, she wouldn't have time to get a new one. And, since they were only supposed to bring one pencil and one eraser, the girl wouldn't be able to take the test.

And, after her eighth toss, it fell. The girl she was hanging with smirked and walked off. The Halfa frowned and approached the girl with wild green hair. "I'm sorry about your pencil." He said honestly. The girl gave him a weak smile, bending down, and attempted to reach in for it. But, the drain was almost six feet deep.

"You don't happen to have another, do you?" Danny shook his head. He didn't. He followed the rules. This girl did, too. But she was careless. He heard her huff with anger. "Great."

Danny took a quick look at his (new) watch. It was red with a black clock that had white numbers. Nine minutes. "I wish there was something I could do."

The girl looked up at Danny, he put a hand on her shoulder. The instant they touched, Danny felt her emotions. A mix of success and… curiosity. Why was she feeling successful? Going on a theory, he asked, "Do you have another pencil?"

The question caught the girl be surprise. Slowly, she got up and dusted off her now-grayish dress. "Yes, I do."

Danny smiled. He was getting good at this empathy thing. Thank you, Phoebe! "That's good." He looked at his watch. Only seven minutes. He turned to head in when she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks for… being concerned. Hey, wanna know something?" She gave him mischievous eyes. Her excitement and other positive emotions made Danny happy; so he said sure. The girl leaned in and whispered into his ear, "I have the test answers. If you sit behind me, you can glance over my shoulder."

Danny pulled away. This girl wanted him to _cheat? _He had sworn never to cheat after the Dan incident. Now, this girl was offering him answers to a stupid test that he felt he was going to pass. "No." he said.

"Are you sure? I mean, this would guarantee—"

"Look, I don't cheat. I won't tell on you, that'd be rude, but I won't cheat." The girl looked at him awed. He had turned down (fake) guarantee of passing. Not only that, he was serious about it!

"Okay." She said, hiding a smile.

With only five minutes to get in, he never noticed a freckled boy standing a ways away, another girl walk up to Mrs. Green-haired. And he didn't notice her taking out another pencil and begin to toss it.

Danny entered the testing room nervously. It was five minutes until the actual test began and he was already nervous. This test felt very important. He couldn't explain it, but he just _had_ to pass.

He sat there in deep thought for a few minutes, waiting for the girl to enter. He had chosen a seat in the front row, just in case. It was thirty-seconds until the test began and she still hadn't entered.

Four-seconds till, a boy about Danny's age entered, followed by the girl. He grinned when she made it in. The boy chose the open seat next to Danny and the girl sat behind him. "That was close," she whispered to the boy.

A women dressed in all yellow and who had bright red hair emerged into the classroom. Danny remembered her from the other test, in which him and Tucker had taken. They were the only ones who got to go to the second phase.

Back to yellow suit… she reminded Danny of a demon he had helped Bonnie vanquish. A… Jaboohazer, was it? It was some new race of dragon, she told him. So, Danny call the women Mrs. Jabozle. (A/N) Danny needed to give her a funny name… that's where I ran out of ideas.) "There will be no talking!" she boomed. She headed to her front desk. Then Danny noticed the big jar of pickles she had. "If any child is caught cheating, then he or she will be executed—"

A series of sharp gasps escaped the children's mouths.

"I'm sorry, did I say executed? I meant to say escorted. Any child caught cheating will be escorted from the building at once." She paused, noting the semi-calmer faces. "Now then, are you all relaxed? It's important to be relaxed when taking such an extremely difficult test as this, especially considering how long it is and how very little time you'll have to complete it."

Danny flinched when a groan came from the back of the room. "You there!" Mrs. Jobozle exclaimed, pointing a finger. A girl was there. Quickly, her face went as white as a ghost. "I said no talking. Do you wish to leave now?"

"But I only groaned!" she protested instantly. Danny was predicting some of the many responses Mrs. Jobozle could say.

"Do you mean to suggest that saying, 'But I only groaned!' doesn't count as talking?"

The girl sank into her seat, barely shaking her head. "Very well, let this be a warning to you. To _all _of you. From this moment on there will be no talking, period." She took a deep breath then continued, "Now then, are there any questions?"

Danny mentally dared someone to raise their hand. Sure enough, the boy next to him raised his hand. "Reynard Muldoon, you have a question?" He held up a broken pencil. He made a sharpening motion with the other hand. "Very well, you may use the pencil sharpener on my desk." She said dryly.

Reynard stood up and walked to the sharpener. He began, stopped, checked the tip, and then began to twist it again. Then he rushed back to his seat.

Danny didn't notice the green haired girl slipping out a small sheet of paper. And if he did, he would've looked away instantly.

"You have one hour to finish your test and you must follow these directions exactly." She inhaled. "First, write your name at the top of the test. Second, read all the questions and answers carefully. Third, choose the correct answers by circling the appropriate letter. Fifth—"

'Wait,' Danny thought, 'where's the fourth?'

"— bring the completed test to me. Sixth, return to your seat and wait until all the tests have been graded, at which time I will announce the names of those who pass."

Both Danny and Reynard raised their hands. Mrs. Jobozle, having already let Reynie do something, called on Danny. The Halfa pointed to his mouth. "You may speak. What's your question?"

"What about the fourth step, ma'am?"

She simply smiled and answered, "There is no fourth step. Are there anymore questions?"

No one moved. No one spoke. So, she continued on. "To pass this test, you must correctly answer every question correctly, by which I mean _every _single question. If you skip even a single question, or answer on incorrectly, you will fail and not be permitted to continue."

Danny hear Rhonda whisper to Reynard, "No problem."

Mrs. Jobozle's eyes shot daggers at the pair.

Danny, who had wondered why on Earth she would speak, came to a logical assumption. Had the girl offered him test answers after he refused? That would explain why he was so nervous. The Halfa's attention fell back onto Mrs. Jobozle. (A/N) I can't get over how lame the name I came up with sounds…)

"You may begin the test as soon as you receive it." She turned around to face her desk. He almost laughed. Almost. The woman began passing out the tests.

The first to receive it was a bulky, Dash-like boy. One look at the test made him burst into tears. The next was a girl, who resembled Star, glanced at her test, blinked a few times, and then looked again.

"If you feel you might faint, place your head between your knees and take a few deep breaths. If you think you might vomit, there is a trash can in the front." She walked up and down rows, casually handing out tests. "If you feel you need to leave the room, close the door on your way out. Your sobs may bother the other test-takers."

Danny watched as Reynard received his test. He looked so nervous. Danny swore that if a ghost suddenly appeared, the boy might just break down crying. Then, he recived the test.

The first question was more torture than staying with Mr. Lancer after school.

**The territories of the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Nargo-Karabakh region ate disputed by what two countries? **

Danny glanced at the answer choices and began to sweat. How was he supposed to know if was Bhutan, or Azerbaijan, or Vanuatu? He hadn't even heard of those countries! Danny, randomly trying his luck, circled B. It _felt _right. He didn't know why, but the choice just seemed obvious, even though he had no clue where Azerbaijan was.

It went like this through the entire test. He would read all the answers, and when his eye settled on an answer choice, he chose it. He was one-third the way through when he noticed Reynard's face light up.

Halfway through, the green haired girl stood up and turned in her test. Once she did, Mrs. Jobozle nodded her head slightly when she came to the first question. Then, the girl passed between his and Reynard's desk, slipping out two pieces of paper. Reynard, Danny noted, moved his foot over to the sheet of paper. He stomped on it soundlessly and moved his foot back, not glancing a single time at the paper.

Danny mimicked his movement, dragged the sheet of paper over. Cautiously, he glanced around. No one was watching. He phased the sheet into the ground and continued his test the same way he had been taking it.

Rhonda noticed that as the boy placed his foot on the answer sheet, he glanced around nervously. She had assumed he'd cheat. But he didn't. The test answers simply _vanished_. She made a mental note to tell Mr. Benedict about this later…

Reynard turned in his test ten minutes after Rhonda. Danny, five minutes after that. They waited for their tests to be graded.

"Pencils! Time's up, children. Set down your pencils, please." All the remaining kids got up and placed their tests on her desk. Nods came and gone as she graded swiftly. When she reached Danny's test, he was sure he would fail. But he got nod, nod, nod, all the way through the test.

"Nicely done!" The girl whispered to him. Reynard raised an eyebrow. "You did it on without cheating!"

Then was Reynard's test, he got the same thing. "Nice work, you managed it on your own!" Rhonda commented to him.

Mrs. Jobozle stood. "I shall read now the names of those who passed the test. If your name is called you shall continue onto the third stage, and so, you are to remain seated and await further instructions. Those not called are free to go."

'Third stage?' Danny whinnied in his mind. He sooooo didn't want to take another test.

"Reynard Muldoon and Daniel Fenton!" She began to head out, and when she was half way out, she called, "That's all."

Tucker glanced around, watching over half of his test-mates flee the room after receiving the test. All he did was stare at it. If you organized the way things were said, it would reveal the answer. On number one, the first answer choice started with B. so he chose B. He did this throughout the test. Tucker sure showed that Rhonda girl he didn't need the answer.

Yellow lady rose from her seat. She had, about an hour ago, called for tests; and she was done grading. "I will now announce the names of those who move onto the third phase." Pause for dramatic effect, "Tucker Foley." She walked calmly to the door, but paused halfway. "That is all."

Sam eyes her test distrustfully. It was just too hard. There had to be something more behind it. She was on number 19, and wasn't ready to give up. Holding back a moan, she flipped the page.

She blinked. Could her eyes be deceiving her? Was it really real? Was the answer to question one in question 20? She flipped back. Yes. It was. This wasn't a real test. It was a puzzle. Calmly, she finished her test. Without once glancing at the crumbled piece of answer sheet.

Ten minutes after she turned it in, Amarillo Señoreta (1) called in for tests. An hour later, she announced who would continue onto the third stage. Her and the Kate girl from her first test, and just so happened to pass because of another ordeal that Sam was curious about, were the only ones who made it.

Yellow Women

YES! Okay, this is another free one because I have to do a class project where I completely change a story, and I'm doing a crossover. So, if it turns out nicely, this'll be updated about once or twice a week. Possibly more, possibly less. If it doesn't work out, consider this a One-Shot or Two-Shot, possibly Three-Shot.

Oh, Danny and Reynie want you to press that little blue button. It's right under this, so move mousie, move to the button and click!


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! Nothing mentioned in this story is mine! I wish some it was… that would make an awesome birthday gift.

**Chapter 2: Buckets, Spider Backpacks, Spectacles, and Suspicions. **

Danny and Reynard sat in the room in silence. Both were thinking the same thing. Why didn't Rhonda pass? She had wished them luck when she left but… but _what_? Danny realized. 'Didn't she cheat? Had the women caught her? Why wasn't she upset when she wasn't called?' Ugh. His brain hurts.

The Halfa glanced at the boy next to his. He didn't like all this silence… in fact, he hated it. "So, what's your name?" he asked. The boy turned, his thoughts disturbed.

"Reynard Muldoon, but call me Reynie." Danny nodded slowly. "What's yours?" Reynie didn't like the silence either.

"Daniel Fenton, but call me Danny."

"You from around here?" he questioned. Reynie realized this guy was quite nice. Did he find out the test was just a puzzle, too? Reynie had also noticed that Rhonda had slipped _two _answer sheets in, one for him, one for Danny. If Danny didn't cheat, he must be a pretty decent fellow.

"No, I'm not, actually. I come from Amity Park, Illinois." That sparked an all new conversation.

"Ghost capital of the USA?" Danny nodded. "Do ghosts really exist? Have you seen one?"

Danny smiled. This was the perfect time to get word out about his alter-ego! "Yeah, I've seen tons. Danny Phantom, he's our town hero. Stops bad ghosts. But, some people, my parents for example, think of him as a menace. They say, "Let's rip him apart! Molecule by molecule!""

Reynie choked a laugh. "Cool. What does he look like?" Reynie didn't want to go back to the silence at all. It was so… unfitting.

Danny's smile widened, glad for an excuse to keep talking. "He has white hair, neon green eyes, he wears a black jumpsuit with a white collar, boots, gloves, belt, and symbol."

Reynie tried to picture the hero. He had never met one. He has heard of tons. Superman, Teen Titans, Justice League, but Danny Phantom was a solo worker. Phantom must be very good at his job! He must be pretty brave… then he realized he had said that last part out loud.

"Really?" Danny sounded so enlightened… did he know Phantom?

"Well, he fights ghosts, doesn't he?"

The pair were unaware that ol' yellow suit was listening in. They hadn't even seen her enter, they were so entranced in this conversation.

"Yeah, I guess that make him brave." Danny was bursting with excitement. This boy, whom had never met his alter-ego, already thought he was brave!

"Well, now that you two are finished," she interrupted, "The other children are all gone. We have them doughnuts and sent them on there way." Reynie interrupted.

"Excuse me! But I really need to call Miss Perumal!"

Realizing that they hadn't called Mrs. Foley, Danny said, "And I need to call Mrs. Foley!"

Yellow suit nodded kindly. "Not to worry, we have contacted your guardians."

"Miss," Reynie continued, "Excuse me, Miss?"

"Yes, Reynard?"

"You wouldn't happen to be lying to me, would you?"

Danny was shocked be his question. Even as a hero, he wouldn't have questioned adults… except Vlad. Never trust Plasmius.

"Lying to you?" Mrs. Jobozle repeated, shocked.

"I'm sorry to ask it. But you told Miss Perumal I could use your phone. Then you said there was no phone. I just don't want Miss Perumal to worry."

Then the women smiled. She was unphased by his words. "That's a reasonable question." She gave him a quiet nod, as if made to leave.

Danny slumped in his chair. He hadn't even _thought _of contacting his temporary guardians.

"Miss, you haven't answered my question!" Reynie exclaimed, snapping Danny from his thoughts. The pencil women, for she reminded Reynie of a giant pencil, sighed.

"I suppose you would prefer the truth?"

"Yes, please!" Reynie said exasperated, while Danny whispered it.

"Truth is, I haven't called anyone. But I will do so immediately. Actually, I was about to call her when you asked me. Are you satisfied?"

Danny glanced at his new friend. He looked like he didn't know how to respond; and Danny didn't blame him. How could you reply to an adult that had confessed that she lied?

"May I just call her myself? It will only take a minute."

Danny was awed by Reynard's courage. Then Danny realized why he hadn't called. He didn't need to. Danny was always out late patrolling invisibly, and the Foleys gave him an 11o'clock curfew in stead of the ten o'clock one at home!

"What would you say if I have told you I did, in fact, call her? Wait, you wouldn't believe me. How about I pass on a message, hmm? 'Do you see now that you didn't need luck? I'm glad you wore matching socks."

Danny laughed. Matching socks?

Before Reynie could send playful glares at Danny, the pencil women bolted out the door.

A few minutes passed in silence. Danny, okay with this silence, yet wanted to tease his new friend, said, "Matching socks?"

"Shut up!" Danny was about to make a remark, when he and Reynard heard footsteps. Soon, a bald, skinny, light chestnut skin, owl-size eyes, and wore spectacles, boy appeared in the doorway. "Hello, is this where I'm supposed to wait?" Danny, who had advanced hearing, nodded at his question. Reynie, who was an average human, had to strain to hear his timid voice.

"This is where were supposed to wait," Danny answered.

"You can join us." Reynie said quickly, hoping to make up for Danny's slight rudeness. "I'm Reynie Muldoon, and that," he gestured to a waving Danny, "is Danny Fenton."

The boy walked in cautiously. "I'm Sticky Washington. I was just wondering if this was the right place. The women said to look for two boys, Daniel and Reynard."

"That's us." Reynie exclaimed. "People call me Reynie for short." He stuck out his hand, Sticky shook it hesitantly.

"Are you here for the third test?" Danny asked anxiously. When he did, Sticky smiled slightly at him. Sticky hadn't even heard his question.

"Did you live in Amity? I heard about these ghost hunters there." His voice then got really quiet. "Do ghosts really haunt there?"

Danny was a bit taken back. This kid had heard of his parents. _His parents_. "Yeah, to all of your questions. I'm their son." Reynie raised a curious eyebrow. "Well, are you here for the third test?" The Halfa persisted.

Sticky gave a slight nod. "I've been waiting all day. I had to be here at nine o'clock in the morning. When the test ended, which was at ten, I was left alone in an empty room. Thankfully, I had a pear or else I might've starved. I heard all the other children got doughnuts. Why didn't we get any?"

"Same thing I wanted to ask!" Another voice exclaimed. Danny instantly recognized it.

An African-American boy with a pair of classic rectangular glasses waltzed in.

"Hey, Tuck! You made it?" Danny asked, immediately gaining the other two boys attention. Tucker laughed.

"Yeah. It was easy."

Sticky's eyes widened. "You knew all the answers, too?" Now Sticky had everyone's attention.

"You knew those answers?" Danny exclaimed, completely amazed by the fact. Sticky recoiled and blushed brightly.

"Not all. Some made me think."

Tucker's eyes looked like they might've exploded. "One, how in the world do you know all those answers, two, I just used the trick that I've used since I was a kid. I guess it worked on this test… it never works on the others." He turned his attention to Danny. "How did _you _pass? Last I checked, you're barely passing ninth grade!"

Curious to the friends exchange and not wanting to hear Danny's answer, since he was sure it was the same as his, he asked a quick question. "What's your trick?"

Tucker forgot the question he had asked Danny and smiled proudly. "I read the answer choices. Whichever letter the first one starts with is the one I chose."

Sticky's head took a small leap back. "What if the first question starts with Z or something?"

"Then I count down to see! For example if the question had five answer choices, but the first started with a P, I would give each letter a number 1-5 in prefer until I got to P. Then, I would just circle that answer choice."

"And it works?" Reynie asked, completely shocked by this.

Tucker frowned slightly. Then a nervous smile spread across his face. "Well, no, not really. But I guess it did for this test."

"Are you the only one who passed the second test?" Reynie inquired, curious to see if anyone would join them.

"First test, no. Danny passed it with me. Second, yes. How about you?" Tucker said, turning to Sticky. Sticky nodded.

"A girl half my size passed the first one with me; haven't seen her since yesterday, though. Was she in your one of your guys group?" Everyone shook their heads. Sticky shrugged. "Maybe she's coming later. And I'm the only one who passed the second test. But that confused me because—"

Danny interrupted, suddenly intrigued by this conversation. "Because there was a girl who cheated?"

Sticky took a small step back. "How do you know that?"

Reynard's turn. "Same thing happened to us! I bet it was a trick of some kind. Tell me, did she drop her pencil down a drain? Right before the test?"

"Yes! I couldn't believe anybody would take such a chance. After all, we were only supposed to bring one pencil."

"What did you do?" The Halfa asked.

Honestly, Sticky answered, "I felt sorry for her, so I tried to help her. She lowered me down into the grate, she was stronger than a bear, you know, and because I'm so skinny, I slid right through the bars. I wasn't able to get her pencil. You know what she did? She pulled me out, thanked me, an pulled out _another _pencil! Then, on top of that, she offered me the test answers! Glad I refused, though. She appeared to have the wrong ones."

"Me, too," Reynie said. "I bet refusing was part of the test. If we cheated, theyd have known about it and none of us would be here!"

While this exchange was going on, Danny and Tucker were having a quiet side conversation. "How'd you pass?" Asked the techno-geek.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know. Answers just _felt _right, like it was obvious."

Tucker leaned in closer and whispered, "A new ghost power, maybe?"

"Maybe. But what type of power is that?"

"Wisdom?" Tucker joked. Danny crossed his arms and leaned back.

"I highly doubt that, Tuck."

Few minutes later…

"So, you knew all the answers?" Danny asked, still fascinated by Sticky for being so smart. Sticky pulled out a cloth and began to polish his glasses.

"Yeah, most anyway. I didn't finish in time so I circles some at random, hoping I'd get lucky."

"So you didn't fun out the test was a puzzle?" Reynard asked, awed.

"A puzzle? No, I didn't. I only passed because I knew most of the answers. That's why poeple call me Sticky. Anything I read sticks in my head."

"That," Tucker began, "is absolutely amazing." Sticky beamed.

"Anyway," Danny said, "what's this puzzle you were talking about?"

Reynie was taken back by this. Hadn't Danny passed the same way he had? Maybe he passed the same way as his friend, Tucker. "You didn't notice all the answers were in the test?" Danny shrugged. Tucker tilted his head back and forth in consideration. Sticky frowned.

"I noticed the same information was repeated a lot. I just didn't take it into consideration." Sticky sighed.

"I didn't even read the questions." Tucker said honestly.

"I zoned out the whole test." Danny informed. Reynie was about to question him, but thought better of it.

'He'll tell us if he wants to.' he thought.

They spent the next hour just talking and laughing. Danny told them about some of the ghosts. Sticky told them about Rhonda. Tucker told them about Sam and her… athletic and Gothic ways, with Danny's help.

Reynie described the ordeal regarding Miss Perumal. The topic made Sticky uncomfortable. He began to polish his spectacles again; Danny noted the habit.

"Same thing happened to me. But she called them and it was all okay." Sticky said nervously.

It continued like this for a while. Then, the conversation of families and homes appeared.

"Where do you live?"

Then the door flew open. A girl, carrying a red bucket, races in. She was followed by Sam, who had her spider backpack hanging on her left shoulder, not that Reynie and Sticky new that. Sam split from her and raced next to Danny, while the blonde, her hair was in a pony, she had bright, ocean blue eyes, fair complexion— though not as fair a Paulina's— rosy cheeks, and broad shoulders, she was also very tall for a teenager, ended up standing next to Sticky, who leapt back in alarm.

"What's the matter?" He cried.

"What's the matter with you?" she countered.

"Well, what were you running from?"

"From? I wasn't running from anything. I was racing her," she waved her hand at Sam, "to this room. By the way," she turned to face the Goth, "I so won."

Sam scuffed. "Yeah, right. I was ahead of you, you just happened to turn into the room sooner."

"So I won."

Sam rolled her eyes.

Since Sticky was in a state of panic, Reynie introduced them. "I'm Reynie Muldoon. That's Sticky, Danny, and Tucker."

The goth glanced at her friends. "I know them. I'm Sam. And I believe the girl who _lost _is Kate."

The blonde glared at Sam. "I'm Kate Wetherall." Kate turned to face Sticky. "why do they call you Sticky, eh? You don't feel sticky." She touched his arm.

"It's a long story." Sticky warned. Sam and Kate plopped down into a desk chair.

"Let's have it then." Kate suggested.

So Sticky told them how he got his name. Kate then told them something… interesting. "I've always wanted a nickname. I try to get people to call me The Great Kate Weather Machine, but no body ever does. I don't suppose you would call me that, would you?"

"It's a weird nickname." Reynie stated. "It takes a while to say."

Kate admitted, "I guess it does, but not if you speak it quickly.

"We'll think about it." Tucker promised. Kate nodded in silent agreement.

Reynie, and Danny, for that matter, both wanted to ask about the bucket. Reynie beat Danny tithe punch. Kate gave him a shocked look.

"Who doesn't know what a buckets for. It's for carrying stuff, silly!"

Danny rolled his eyes in a teasing way towards Reynie, who gave him a fake hurt look.

"Yes," Reynie continued, "I know that. But in case you haven't noticed, normal people don't go around carrying buckets."

Kate swayed her head, considering his words. "I guess, they should, though. I can't imagine not having my bucket. How else would I carry all my things around?"

"What things?" Danny and Sam said simultaneously.

Kate grinned ferociously. "I'll show you!" She pulled out an Army knife, a blue flashlight, a pen light, and a bottle of extra-strength glue. She checked the cap, and deciding it was tight enough, set it on the ground. Then came a bag of multi-colored marbles, a slingshot, a thing of clear fishing twine, a panicle and eraser, a kaleidoscope, and a large, horseshoe magnet, which she had to yank to get it to release the metal bucket. "I've been through tons of magnets, but this is the strongest I've managed to find." Then she showed them a rope, that had happened to have been wound up around the bottom of the bucket.

"Wow." Tucker exclaimed. He couldn't believe it! She had tons of strange objects, but not a single, a _single_, electronic.

"That's a lot of stuff to carry." Sticky pointed out calmly.

"It's all useful! Take this morning for example, some green haired girl dropped her pencil down a drain out on the plaza—" the boys exchanged glances, "— and, because of my bucket, I was able to help her get it back!"

"Was, by some weird coincidence, her name Rhonda?" Danny inquired.

"How do you know that?"

"We'll tell you later. Just finish your story." Reynie said, hoping and wondering how she got her pencil.

"Okay. Well, I took my knife and screwdriver and pried open the drain. I tied a rope to the park bench and lowered myself into it. I used my flashlight, since it was pitch black down there. The pencil had rolled into a crack, a ten and a half inches deep one, too. I took out my pen light, stuck it in my mouth so I could work with the twine and glue." She took a deep breath. "To put it short, I dabbled the glue on the tip of the twine and stick it down the crack, waited a few seconds, then pulled out the pencil." She looked at all of their faces. Noting that most were wide, she continued, "I couldn't have done any of that without my bucket, could I?"

"Weren't you scared?" Sticky asked, intrigued. He had been completely afraid when he was lowered. He really didn't want to be the only one afraid.

"Of what?" she scuffed. "Getting wet? It hasn't rained in days!"

Sam nodded at the girl. She had an attitude that she approve of. And, she new, her parents wouldn't. But something she had said made her think… "How'd you know how deep the crack was?"

"Oh. I've always been able to tell distances. Like this room, for example, is 22 feet long and 16 feet wide."

"Are you sure?" Danny asked, beating a skeptical Sticky to the punch.

"Of course."

"Then let's measure!" Reynie suggested. He fetched a ruler from yellow suits desk and him, Tucker, and Sam walked around, measuring the classroom. Sure enough, the room was 22 feet long and 16 feet wide.

Sam gave an approving nod, whole Reynard whistled and Sticky key her know it wasn't bad.

Because Danny wanted to hear her finish the story, he asked, "So, did Rhonda offer to give you the test answers?"

Kate shot Danny a suspicious look. Sam, who had also met Rhonda, was fascinated by Danny. Had he met her? Back to Kate, she inquired to know if Danny was spying on her. Assuring her he wasn't, she continued, "Well, I called her a loon. Cheating? Who would do that?"

"Well, since you didn't cheat, I assume you found out the test was a puzzle, unless, of course, you knew all the answers."

Kate raise her eyebrows. "Who on Earth could possibly know all the answers to that test?"

"Sticky did."

It was Kate's turn to be impressed. "Nice. Now," she turned towards Reynie, "what's this about a puzzle?"

"But if you didn't know about any of the puzzles, how did you," Reynie glanced at Danny, "and you, pass?"

"I didn't pass. Only Sammy here did." Sam cringed at the nickname. "O only stuck around because I helped out Old Yellow Suit."

Of course, everyone wanted to here about that. So, Kate launched into a full explanation.

"When the test was finished, Yellow Suit took us down and gave everybody doughnuts—"

If you tried, you could hear Tucker complaining, "I want doughnuts…"

"—and told the parents how dreadfully sorry she was. Most parents weren't very happy with her. They kind of formed a mob, blocked the exit, and demanded answers.

"I wanted to help because she was only doing her job. While the grown ups were yelling, I snuck through the crowd, went to the door, and removed the doorknob. Thinking of a distraction, I yelled, "Y'all, there's the man behind all of this! That him in the corner!" And all the adults tried to see who it was. All but Old Yellow Suit. She ran towards the exit. Once she was out, I shut the lights off and closed the door. We ran down the hall. And we had a food head start, since all the crannies were trying to find the doorknob. When they did get out, we were already in a closet, safe and sound.

"Once we heard the last person leave, Old Yellow Suit smiled at me and told me to go onto the next stage of testing." Kate finished.

Danny smiled widely at her heroic actions. She was _brave. _"Wow." Was all he could say.

"Amazing!" Reynard exclaimed.

"Impressive." Sam mentioned.

"Nicely done." Tucker commented.

"I can't believe it! You're a hero!" Sticky cried.

"Oh please," Kate said, clearly embarrassed. "It was no biggie. Anyone could've done it. Now, tell me your story. How is it you know about Rhonda Kazembe? And what's this about the test having puzzles?"

Before anyone could answer her, Mrs. Josozle— otherwise know as pencil women, Yellow Suit and Old Yellow Suit— poked her head in. "Children, it's time for the third test. Report to room 7-B immediately." She then disappeared again.

"Where the heck is room 7-B?" Tucker cried.

"Yeah!" Sticky agreed, "It took me half the night to find the Monk Building!"

"I'm sure we can find it easily enough." Reynie motioned. Him, Danny, and Sam were all think similar thoughts. Half the night? What about his parents?

"You'd better fill me in quickly," Kate said, bursting through their thoughts, "Old Yellow Suit isn't particularly patient."

"You're right," Danny and Reynie instantly agreed. Then Reynard, on his own this time said, "We'll fill you in on the way."

Then, all six of them went in search of room 7-B.

OMG! Another chappie over 3,500 words! My fingers hurt! You'd better review! I only did this because I was bored! Now excuse me, I've got a teacher to email. REVIEW!


	3. Chapter 3

**Squares, Arrows, and… Ghosts?**

As Sam and Reynie had expected, the room was on the seventh floor. They had ignored the door at first, since it didn't have a label. But, after passing rooms 7-A, 7-C, 7-D, and 7-E, they concluded that the door was what they'd been looking for. Kate, being the boldest, knocked loudly. Then, when she got no reply, she knocked again. And

again. And again. Then they finally got a reply.

"That's enough knocking." A deep, calm voice said. Which, surprisingly, the beholder of the voice was close to the children. All six of the teens shot around in surprise. A tall, lean man in a worn-out hat, jacket, pants, and boots stood before them. His cheeks were ruddy and dark with some whiskers; his hair, the little that showed under his hat, was a yellow color. His sad, ocean-blue eyes appeared to frown, generating a wave of sadness. Danny didn't even need to come in contact with him to know something was wrong.

Reynie, who had also noticed he was sad-looking, questioned, "Are you

feeling all right, sir?"

He shrugged indignantly and replied, "Not really. But that's neither here nor there. Are you all prepared for the third test?"

Kate took a step towards the man, unfazed by his sadness. "But we haven't even had a proper introduction!" She forcefully stuck her hand out. "I'm Kate Wetherall. But my friends call me—" she turned back to look at her new pals. All gave her doubtful looks. "Well, they call me Kate."

The man shook the blondes hand hesitantly. Everyone had also introduced themselves, Reynie noted that Danny didn't bother to shake hands. He tucked that question away for later, for it was his turn to shake. He frowned when he did. His handshake seemed almost helpless, he had barely squeezed.

"Now that we've met, I do believe we have a test—"

"But you haven't introduced yourself, yet!" Sam pressured.

Danny cowered a bit. The man had very powerful emotions. He was too scared to find out what would happen if he shook his hand…

His attention was snapped back into place when he heard the man let out and annoyed vibe and sigh. "Call me Milligan. Now, which one of you is George?"

Kate and Sam scowled slightly. "Weren't you listening?" Kate demanded. "Our names are Reynie, Danny, Tucker, Kate, Sam, and Sticky!"

Sticky held up two fingers nervously. "Well, my real name is George. Sticky's just my nickname."

"Wait," Tucker order. "Your names George Washington? Like the first p-p-p." He never finished, for he had cracked up into a fit of laughter.

Sticky glared at Tucker. "It's not an uncommon name, so don't tease me!"

Reynie placed a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Sticky. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it."

Danny huffed. "Yeah, Tuckers just being Tucker. Him and Sam gave me an awful nickname one time." Before anyone could ask about it, Milligan intruded.

"I doesn't matter what your name is. Sticky, or George, you go first. Walk into the room and shut the door behind you."

"I have to go in alone?" he whimpered quietly.

"It's quiet all right. After all, it is only a test. The others with be with you shortly."

Danny gave him a clap on the back, which Reynie and Sam mimicked. "Best of luck, Sticky," he said.

Sticky entered the room.

Kate seemed angered, Sam, who felt the same way, stomped furiously on the ground, huffing. "Do you believe that?" Kate demanded. "He didn't tell us anything!"

"Big surprise." The three males teens muttered. Sooner than expected, Milligan returned. It was Tucker's turn.

Bravely, Tucker entered the room. He glanced around his surroundings, noting all the small details. Then, he frowned. He had read the sign and didn't know what to do about it.

Then a thought clicked. Tucker got on his back, legs up towards the celling, and used his arms to push himself towards the other side of the room.

After that, Milligan returned. Reynie's turn. "See you on the other side." Kate said, grinning. Reynie entered the room.

Five minutes later, Milligan returned. Sam's turn. Sam, who refused

to show a hint of fear, waltzed in.

She read the sign, then sight heavily. She calmly removed her spider backpack and tossed it to the other side of the room. She took a few steps back, then ran. Sam cartwheeled to a large red circle that was placed in the center of the room.

Samantha regained herself, then repeated, cartwheeling to the other

red circle on the other side of the room.

Milligan walked out of the door casually, announcing it was Kate's turn. Happily, Kate stormed into the room.

Next, it was Danny's turn. The Halfa walked into the room cautiously. He stopped. A large sign hung from the roof on the other side of the room. In a quiet whisper, he read it aloud to himself. "Cross the room without setting foot on a blue or black square."

Danny looked at the floor. It was completely covered in black and blue squares, except for the red circles at the ends and in the middle. Did they know about him? Do they expect him to… fly? Deciding that if they had indeed known, they would've acted funnier. Plus, how else would everyone have passed?

Danny gave an angry sigh. How was he going to do this? He glanced

back at the sign, then the floor, back at the sign, back at the floor. He blinked a few times. He smiled. Then, the Halfa walked across the floor calmly.

The ghost boy walked through the door on the other side. Reynie was smiling at him while all the others gave him confused looks. Milligan showed no emotion.

All six kids ended up following Milligan down a dark hallway. All these insect crawled in and out of random cracks… probably creeping out al the boys. But, Sam and Kate were unaffected by the insects.

Danny, thanks to nifty ghostly vision, had no trouble waking through the vast tunnel… the others, well, let's just say Sticky cringed every six or seven-seconds. But, quickly thinking about something else besides the bugs, Sticky turned his attention to two boys with rhyming names.

"Not that I'm upset or anything, but how did you guys pass the test? I'm really glad you did, don't get me wrong! But, Tucker an I crawled, while the girls just did some tricks, but you two walked right across the floor. How?"

Danny smiled, not that anyone could really tell; as did Reynie. "Sticky," Reynie began, "the floor was covered in rectangles. Not squares." Danny nodded in silent agreement.

"Oh." Sticky spoke, meekly. He might remember anything, but he certainly wasn't very observant. Tucker hung his head.

"Well, I'm glad I crawled. It just shows how pure awesome Sticky and I are!"

Sam and Kate shared glances, then broke out into a fit of laughter.

When they finally calmed down, Kate asked, "Hey, Milligan?" The tall man glanced at the girl. "Where are we going? And, where are we?"

He sighed, sucking in his emotions unknowingly, which made Danny frown. "Right now we are under Fifth Street. And we're going to the final test."

"Another test?" Tucker complained, exasperated. He was very lucky to have made it even this far… how was he going to pass another test?

Then, Danny caught sight of a glimpse of sunlight. And, after five minutes of walking, the group saw it, too. The bright light illuminated the darkening tunnel, causing everyone to squint under the powerful rays.

Then, when their eyes had fully adjusted to the sun, they realized

Milligan had disappeared. Instead, a short, fat man stood in his place. Instinctively, all of Team Phantom crouched into a defensive stance, and, so did Kate.

"Who are you? Where's Milligan?" She demanded. Then man frowned at her, removed his glasses, and pointed to himself.

"Right beside you."

Danny stared in awe at this man. He had completely changed his appearance. And, he did it faster than Bertrand.

"Are you a magician?" Tucker questioned, completely forgetting the fact he might be a ghost.

'But, then,' Danny thought, 'he would've set off my ghost sense.'

"I am nobody." He replied plainly. He sped his pace up a bit, striding to a three-story building in the distance. Within seconds, the hexad had reached the building and entered.

As soon as they did, Milligan said, "Go and wait by those steps. Rhonda will be here shortly."

"Kazembe? Rhonda Kazembe?" Reynie asked, but he received no answer. Milligan had left them, this time, though, no one else stood in his place.

"I don't suppose you think we'll meet anyone normal today, do you?" Kate asked the others.

"Normal's overrated." Sam answered tamely. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, while the remaining four boys shrugged.

They walked over to where Miligan had told them to. But Reynie was still curious about something. Cautiously, so he didn't upset his friend, he asked Sticky, "Did your parent know about you-"

"We already talked about this." Turning to the girls he explained, "The women avoided our question on wether or not she called Reynie's tutor and Danny and my parents."

The Halfa placed a hand on Sticky's shoulder, trying to get a reading. Stress. Nervousness. Those were the two big ones.

"Did something like that happen to you guys?" Sticky asked the other three.

Sam and Tucker shared a look, then Sam answered, "Well, it doesn't really matter. Tuck's parents only care if we make it home by eleven."

"I don't have parents." Kate said honestly. All the others looked at her, eyes wide with sorrow. "My mom dies when I was little and my father left me when I was two."

Sticky was horrorstricken. "I'm so sorry."

Kate grinned bravely. "Don't be. I still have one memory about me dad."

Sam quickly sat down and sat criss-cross-applesauce. "Spill, girl." She ordered playfully. Kate complied when she saw the other's agreeing nods.

"Well, it was at this old mill we used to hang around at. I played in the cool water, splashing to my hearts content. Then my dad, I still can't picture his face, lifted me up, and then carried me to the house. I asked if we could go to the mill again, and I recall him saying, 'Certainly, Katie-Cat.' That much is completely clear. Katie-Cat."

"Did you ever go back?" Danny asked. Quickly, he promised himself that they all would return to that pond, his heroism wouldn't let it be otherwise.

"No. Next thing I know, I'm in an orphanage."

"That's strange, Kate." Reynie mentioned. "Your dad seemed like a, well, a nice man."

Kate scuffed angrily. "I know. So, he must've changed."

"That's awful." Sticky said, completely thrown back.

"Hey, guys, it's okay, really. I've had a blast working in the circus. Completely lifted my spirits."

"Circus?" Danny asked, slightly suspicious. Ever since Freakshow... Danny shivered at the unpleasant memory.

Kate laughed, her mood suddenly brightening. "Yeah! I ran away to join when I was seven. They had to return me, but I ran away again. I did that few times, then they finally agreed to let me remain part of the circus.

"But," she continued. "I wanted to do something different. So, when I saw the add, I said bye to my circus pals, and, well, here I am!"

"That's... an interesting life." Reynie said truthfully. "Does the circus help? I mean, like, do you ever miss your parents?"

Kate, slightly annoyed, stated, "What's to miss? If they left me, they left. As I said, I don't recall anything about my mother, and who would want a dad that left you? Clowns and tigers are so much better."

Danny suddenly felt a huge wave of distress. But, not from Kate; but from Sticky. "Hey, you all right, buddy?" He asked, feeling a bit gloomy, too.

Sticky glanced up at Danny, then back down at his shoes, seemingly finding them interesting. "Yes. I was just feeling sorry for Kate. It must be awful to know that you weren't wanted."

Kate laughed, "Dude, weren't you listening? I've had a blast!" Then, forgetting Sticky's shocked expression, she began to tell all these tales about her life in the circus. She told them about cannons, elephants, tigers, and acrobatics until the matter of parents was dropped.

An hour later, all the kids began to complain about hungry one another were. By Danny's watch, he knew it was well past eight.

Then, Rhonda Kazembe entered, or, at least, they had assumed it was Rhonda. For this new girl had the same, dark skin, she was the same height, but her green hair and puffy white dress were long gone. In fact, she had lovely dark braids hanging around her face and wore a simple blue jumper and sandals.

"Hi, kids! Remember me?"

"Rhonda?" They asked simultaneously.

"I sure hope so. If not, then someone is playing an awfully mean trick on me." She said with a laugh.

Then, just as she stopped laughing, Sam and Reynie gasped dramatically. "Why, you're not even a kid! You're a grown-up!" Sam motioned, stating the obvious.

"A very short and young one, yes."

Suddenly, Reynie pointed an accusing finger. "I just knew you were hiding something! I just thought it had to do with the fact that you were cheating!"

"No. I just had to distract you guys and call attention away from my age."

Kate leapt to her feet, followed by Sam and Danny. "Here's a thought. Why don't you give us some food and we can discuss this next test?"

Rhonda waved a taunting finger back and forth. "Not just yet. But whether you pass of fail this next test, you are promised a filling supper. Deal?"

"Deal!" Kate said, readily agreeing.

Rhonda smiled gently, then walked over to a black door. "Let's begin, shall we?"

"When I order you to, one of you must go through this door. Once you reach the back of this house, just run up the stairs and ring the bell. Don't dawdle, you are being timed. Questions?"

"Will this test be harder then the other ones?" Tucker asked nervously.

Rhonda shrugged. "You may find it difficult, but you should be able to do it with your eyes closed."

"Will it be scary?" Sticky questioned, worriedly.

Again, Rhonda shrugged. "Possibly, but I can assure you it isn't dangerous."

"Who goes first?" Reynie asked.

"Well, since this is such a large group, we have to send you in in pairs. So, you and Danny get to go first. Next is Sticky and Tucker. Then Kate and Sam."

She shoved the two boys in.

The room they had entered was brightly lit with black walls. The door that was behind them was painted black and had no doorknob, making it blend in with the walls. Three doorways– one on each wall– passed into a pitch black room, which Danny could easily see. The doorways had no doors, so you could just walk through to the other room.

The pair glanced at each other, then, nodding to each other, they headed through the doorway in front of them.

Then Danny's ghost sense went off. The cold, blue wisp of mist escaped his mouth. Reynie stared in pure shock. It wasn't cold in the room. Then, why could he see his friend's breath?

"What was that?" he asked, taking a step back.

Danny, ignoring his question, took a defensive stance and began to eye the room's perimeter. This was the first ghost encounter since he had arrived in Stonetown. He would've readily transformed, but someone was with him.

"What was that?" Reynie repeated. When he saw his friend look at him, he knew something was wrong. "What's wrong?"

Danny was debating on whether or not to reveal his secret. He knew he could trust him– all of them. Something told him that. But he didn't want to. He wasn't ready. But, protecting others was more important than protecting his secret.

"Promise not to–" his ghost sense went off again. This time, though, Danny shivered.

Then the ghost appeared.

It was a particularly annoying ghost. He was fat, blue, and wore a pair of overalls. "BEWARE! I AM THE BOX GHOST! I DIDN'T LIKE TO HAUNT THAT PLACE WITHOUT THE OCCASIONAL FIGHT! SO I HAVE COME HERE! PREPARE TO FACE MY CARDBOARD BOXES OF TERROR AND THE BUBBLE WRAP OF DOOM!"

Reynie gasped, but, thankfully, didn't scream.

"Boxy, do you have to do this now? This is knid of important." Danny said, clearly annoyed.

Reynie stared at Danny. "There's a ghost," he paused, a small smile tugging on the ends of his mouth. "Who fights using boxes?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. He's such a bug." Reynie laughed.

"HOW DARE YOU IGNORE ME! PREPARE TO MEET YOUR DOOM!"

"As I was saying, promise not to tell anyone what you are about to see?"

Reynie nodded.

"Good. Here it goes. Goin' ghost!" (I am so sorry. I just had to do that!)

Two of the familiar blue-white rings emerged from Danny's chest. They quickly propelled each other into opposite directions, one going up, one traveling down. As they did, they turned him into Danny Phantom, his ghost form, now hovering three feet in the air.

Reynie gaped.

"Now, Boxy, are you going to get into the thermos nicely, or must I make you?" Danny taunted, pulling out a green and silver thermos with the word FENTON on it. It had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Actually, it did.

Ghosts, you see, have a 'storage space', if you will. They can out any items in it, and take them out at will.

"YOU CANNOT CONTAIN ME IN THAT SOUP CANISTER! CIRCULAR CONTAINERS ARE NOT POWERFUL ENOUGH TO CONTAIN THE ALL POWERFUL BOX GHOST!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Wanna bet?" he challenged, uncapping the thermos. The Halfa pressed a small button, making a blue spiral emerge from the device. Danny aimed it at the Box Ghost, allowing it to suck him in, his faint cries barely noticeable.

Reynie was fully and completely awed as his friend– who he now realized was a hero– land gracefully on his feet. He. Had. Turned. Into. A. Full-fledged hero.

"That. Was. Awesome!" He shouted, unable to keep his excitement under control.

Danny turned to face him and smiled shyly. "Thanks. You won't tell anyone, would you?"

Reynie was a bit shocked by this question. he had no one to tell– well, besides Kate and Stick, for he had assumed Danny's friends new. "I won't tell anyone." He promised.

Seeing the relieved look on Danny's face, he continued, "Well, let's solve this test."

They had been discussing what to do about this test. It was harder then they had anticipated it to be, which upset them a bit.

But, then they remembered the clue Rhonda had given them.

"Solve it with our eyes closed." Danny repeated slowly, closing his eyes.

Reynie walked around the room they were in currently. It was just like all the others, but this time, he just happened to notice a strange panel by one of the doorways.

"Danny, look at this."

The Halfa opened his eyes and approached his friend. He stared at the panel. It was a simple, wooden panel. It had a blue arrow pointing to the right, a a green one pointing to the left, a wiggly yellow one pointing to straight ahead, and a purple one pointing down.

"Do you think we follow one?" But, as soon as he asked it, he knew he was right. It was that feeling again. The one he had felt during the test, telling him he had chosen the right answer.

Reynie nodded. "The question is, which one?"

"The yellow."

Reynie stared at Danny, half impressed, half shocked. "Why would it be– oh! I see. Let's go."

And they followed the wiggly arrows.

Soon, they came upon the stair case. Both boys sprinted up at lightening fast speeds. When Danny got there first, he heaved on the bell.

Mrs. Jobozle walked out of a door with a stopwatch in her right hand. "Ten minutes, forty-two seconds." She stated. "Now, come with me."

She walked over to the boys with two handkerchiefs in her hand. The pencil women tied them around their eyes and lead them back to the starting point. She then untied the them and said, "Solve it again." Before leaving out a random doorway.

Reynie and Danny shrugged at each other, then took off racing, following the yellow arrows.

"Two minutes, thirty-two seconds." She reported to them. Calmly, she lead them up more stairs and gestured towards a coach.

"Did we pass?" Danny asked, not sitting on the coach.

"We asked to complete the maze to see if you had actually solved it. Couldn't have you coming upon it be luck, could we? If you solved it, you would've been much quicker the second time around, which you were. Therefore, you pass."

Reynie stared at her. "Why not just ask us the secret?"

"You know what, you'd be surprised how few children pointed that out."

Then she left, leaving them alone in the room in complete and total silence– at least for now, anyways...

Danny had been showing Reynie all his neat-o powers when the bell rang. It had rung before Danny was halfway showing off to his new friend. Instantly, he shifted out of Phantom.

The bell had been rung very loudly, too, making Danny and Reynie wince. Then Kate and Sam strolled into the room.

"They didn't need to go through a second time?" Danny asked, somewhat jealous.

Yellow suit shrugged. "No point." Then, she left again.

Kate and Sam turned to face the boys. "A second time?" Sam asked.

The boys then exclaimed the little event. (Too tired to elaborate right now.)

Then, when they were done, the girls told them how they 'solved' the test. Sam began.

"We unscrewed a heating duct and crawled through, simply going to the back. It was a tight fit, too. Kate had to tie the bucket to her foot. I kept hitting me in the hand."

"I said I was sorry."

"Anyway, we just unscrewed the other end and plopped down by the staircase."

Twenty minutes of boredom had passed. The group had tried to keep themselves entertained, but, they failed when the piano did. It hadn't made a sound because all of the people had replaced the string with books. Kate had made a snotty remark at it.

Kate had continuously reorganized her buckets possessions, when a thought, or question, popped into Reynard's mind. "Why the kaleidoscope?"

The blonde picked it up and inspected it, debating something. Conceding into Reynie's question, she replied, "Since we don't really have any secret here," Danny cringed, "I'll tell you."

She uncapped it, revealing a small, round telescope. "It's really a spyglass. A very good spyglass, actually, so I wouldn't want anyone to steal it. So, I disguise it as a kaleidoscope, a bad one at that, so no one even thinks to take it."

It was such a great idea that everyone in the room smiled widely. "That's pure brilliance!" Reynie exclaimed.

Kate beamed, but frowned when her tummy growled. Sam's smile vanished, too. "Do you ever think those two are going to get here? I'm starved!"

And, to answer her exasperated question, the bell rang. Only once, and very quietly. Then came a voice, Tucker's, Danny recognized. "No, you gotta do it harder! Like this!" The bell rang louder, though not as loud as Kate's had.

Reynie smiled. "They shouldn't be long. Once we figured out the secret, it took us only about three minutes to make it through."

But they waited. Three minutes became five. Then five became fifteen. Then came the ring.

The two boys entered the room. Tucker was smirking and Sticky was grinning shyly. Yellow suit entered behind them, she was also smiling.

"Congratulations! You all pass!"

The teens cheered with happiness, but soon became quite when they realized that the pencil women was no longer there.

"She really likes to leave us hanging, don't she?" Kate huffed. Then she turned her gaze to Sticky and Tucker. "Reynie here said there was a secret. Then, why did it take you two so long to find your way through the second time?"

Tucker smiled brightly. "I figured out the arrows. We had decided to split up–"

"You decided." Sticky corrected. Tucker waved his hand, dismissing the correction.

"–and I found it out pretty quickly. Stick, on the other hand, why don't you tell them?" Then he sat down next to Danny and whispered, "You're gonna love this."

Sticky's skin turned a deep shade of rose. "I tried my luck. Just passing through doorway after doorway."

"And you found it faster the second time?" Danny asked, a but impressed. "You must've gotten really lucky."

"What? Oh. no. The second part was easy. I just retraced my steps. Left, right, straight, left, straight, right, left, left, right, and so on. Exactly as I did before."

"Exactly as you–" Kate mumbled, to shock for better words.

"That's absolutely amazing!" Sam finished for her. Then, out of the blue, Reynie starts laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"You took the hard way, buddy!" He said between coughs of laughter.

"There was an easy way?"

Tucker smirked. "Follow the yellow arrows."

"Oh. That would've been nice to know."


	4. Chapter 4

MBS 4

**Why It Is Children We Need**

They ate their dinner in small dinning room. They were served tomato soup, grilled cheese, and fruits. They all feasted, slowly, but surely. Tucker only ate the grilled cheese.

"It was all for the test." Rhonda told them. "We wanted to see how you would act when other kids for doughnuts while you get nothing. We also had to see how your mind would works when you are parched and famished. And you all, I must say, did amazing."

Sticky sighed, ashamed. "I didn't do anything. I didn't solve anything or find out a puzzle. All I did was wonder around like a twit."

"Don't you dare say that!" Sam shouted.

"Sam's right, Sticky." Rhonda continued. "Very few people could've done what you did."

Sticky flushed.

"Yeah, Sticky. I know my pals and I never would be able to do that." Sam guaranteed.

"Thanks, guys."

"Mr. Benedict will be extremely pleased with this." Rhonda stated cleanly. "He only really wanted three or four children to pass, but he got six teens and a child."

"Who's Mr. Benedict?" Kate asked.

"Oh, you'll meet him soon enough."

The group continued to eat in a peaceful silence, all thinking about their own thoughts. Danny's, of which, were about his Halfa status. He trusted these teens more than he should. He had known them for what? A few hours? And he found himself wanting to tell them. Tell them so badly. He made up his mind. All he needed was for Rhonda to leave…

Mrs. Jobozle walked into the room, a slight frown upon her face. "Hello, kids. Rhonda, can I talk to you real quick?"

'Perfect!' Danny thought.

Rhonda nodded, though she wasn't quite sure why. She had assumed it was about the other one…

"Great. Let's go out in the hall." Rhonda complied.

Before Kate, or anyone, for that matter, could even start talking, Danny said, "Guys, there's something you should know." Seeing their puzzled faces, he frowned. "Hint. Reynie, Sam, and Tucker know."

Reynie's eyes widened. Sam and Tucker, well, they thought they knew what was going on, but they weren't sure.

"Kate, Sticky, I'm—"

He stopped when he heard the door open and the adults walked in.

"I'll just tell you later…" he mumbled.

The two adults saw the exchange, but decided to ignore it. Or, at least, for now…

"Mr. Benedict is waiting in his study. You can go in and see him." Rhonda said, directing the group to the hallway.

They sat there. In his study. Like all the other rooms in the house, it was piled up with books. The group was all alone in there, except for the man who's chair faces the wall, making him unseen.

Danny could sense another person in there, but if he called him out, then he would know something was weird with Danny.

"Well, great." Sam complained. "They drop us off in a dusty room with no one."

"Actually, I beg to differ." Mr. Benedict said, spinning his chair around to face the group.

He had rusty white hair and a chubby, stubbed nose. He wore a green plaid outfit, a reason Danny didn't care for knowing, and a wide, happy smile. This was Mr. Benedict.

"I must congratulate you, kids. You have all done exceedingly well on these tests and challenges. There is so much to explain, but that'll have to wait. For, we have to wait for another." He glanced around. "Speaking of which, Number Two, have you received any notice from Milligan?"

The pencil women, or Number Two's, nose twitched. "Yes. He said it should be soon."

"Could you go and wait for them?" Seeing his helpers shocked expression, he continued, "I will be just fine. Rhonda's right here."

Reluctantly, she left the room.

"Another?" Tucker complained. "Isn't six enough?"

"Yes, it is more than I could've hoped for. But, she has passed all my tests. And, in quite a silly manner. Rhonda, tell them how many pencils she brought to the test!"

Rhonda let out a small, annoyed sigh. "She brought thirty-seven. We tell her to bring one pencil, and instead, she brings thirty-seven."

"How do you even know that?" Tucker asked.

"The storm drain, remember. Only she opened up her raincoat and said, 'Help yourself. I've got thirty-seven."

"And that doesn't count a cheating?"

"Well," Mr. Benedict explained, "The poor of the test was about refusing the test answers, which she did. The pencil was inconsequential."

"What's her name?" Danny asked, forgetting he was about to tell these other teens his dearest secret.

"Constance Contraire, a test-taker, too. She have us quite a workout. Some of her test answers were… quite nerve racking."

"Let's hear some!" Danny exclaimed, he was in need of some humor.

Mr. Benedict gave a hearty laugh before disappearing behind his desk. "I have some around here somewhere… AH HA! Found them!"

He sat up, two tests in his hand. He flipped through it, stopped, smiled, and began to read. "Remember the 'What is wrong with this statement?' question? Her response was funnier than Sam's here!" Sam blushed. "She wrote, 'What is wrong with you?' as her response."

He laughed a choky, quick, and mouse-like laugh. You might just say he sounded like a dolphin.

Team Phantom understood it, using witty banter 24/7. But the other three… not so much.

"Here's another!" He showed them the picture of the chess board. "This was her reply, 'Rules and schools are tools for fools! I don't give two mules for rules!"

Team Phantom broke out into small giggles, while Mr. Benedict laugh his squeaky laugh. But, this time, his chest fell and he fell asleep.

Rhonda leapt forward, catching his glasses. She lowered the man onto his desk with care, then placed the glasses next to his right hand, and backed away.

"Is he all right?" Sticky asked, concerned.

"Yes, he'll be just fine. He should awake in a minute. This only lasts a few moments."

And, as she said it, the man began to stir. Instantly, he jolted up from his chair and gave a quick smile. He reached down and picked up his glasses, setting them on his nose. "How long was I out?"

"Only a moment." Rhonda answered.

"Good, good." He turned toward the children. "You see, I have a condition called narcolepsy. Have any of you heard of it?"

"Sure." Sticky said casually. "It's a disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable attacks of sleep. That's what the dictionary says, at least."

Mr. Benedict tapped his nose. "The dictionary is correct. Only fault, each attack comes from a different reaction on each person. That's the reason I wear green plaid, it calms, covering a bit of deep emotions." He smiled brighter, which Danny was sure was impossible. "Now, where did we leave off? Ah, right. Constance. Did you know that instead of actually doing the second test, she wrote a poem about the missing forth step? For some reason, it reminded her of doughnut holes, because these were the topic of her next poem. Apparently, she feels robbed that every doughnut has a hole. She even rhymed 'flaky bereft' and 'bakery theft!' Now, where was it… here." He was about to read, when Sticky interrupted.

"Sir? How did she pass if she didn't answer the questions?"

"There are tests," he said in a Clock-y like way, "then there are tests."

"Excuse me?"

"It will be clear soon, Sticky. Oh, goodie! They're here!"

The door opened. Number Two entered, followed be an annoyed Milligan, then a very, very short Constance Contraire.

It took a while for the teens to process that this was Constance. She resembled a large fire hydrant. Her short, chubby size and red raincoat made her short, blonde hair stand out greatly.

Danny's first impression? He was shocked. She was hiding her emotions with full force, blocking him from even sensing her. His eyes followed her as she tried to get into a chair. Eventually, Sam picked her up and lifted her, not receiving a 'thank you.'

Number Two turned to face the teens. "She didn't even try to complete the maze. Instead, she had herself a picnic! A picnic! It took Milligan almost an hour to find her."

"I won't apologize." Constance stated clearly.

"And we won't ask you to." Mr. Benedict replied. "I am pleased to hear you've had supper. Have you enjoyed yourself?"

"Quite."

Mr. Benedict nodded. "Milligan, thank you for finding her." Milligan returned the nod, the removed himself from the study. Number Two walked over to Mr. Benedict's side after she had introduced the teens to her. Only Danny offered her his hand, which she automatically refused.

"My friends," Mr. Benedict began. "Let me cut to the chase. I really wish I could tell you that, because you have passed, you are to gain a pleasant education. The real reason is quite the opposite."

The teens frowned.

"For many years I have used these tests hoping to gain a team of children to assist with a very important project. As you are all aware, many have taken the tests, including Number Two and Rhonda, here. But, also, very few pass. And, when some happen to do so, they don't do it at the same time. That is crucial. I don't need a team; I need a team of children."

"We're teens." Sam corrected, but Mr. Benedict dismissed it.

"All the better."

Although Danny could feel how serious Mr. Benedict was about this whole matter, he was so curious as to what was so bad; and he said so.

"Well, Danny, this project is dangerous. It will put your lives at risk."

Team Phantom shrugged it off, although they were still a bit bothered. But, hey, they fought ghosts on a daily schedule. It would take a lot more than a life-threatening mission to out them at risk.

Reynie, Sticky, and Kate… well, they were stunned, to say the least.

"Let me be perfectly clear. I do not wish to put any of you in harms way. I am only doing so because you could very possibly fall into a greater danger if you don't. In fact, even more people could be in danger if I don't.

"You should know I won't force you to join the team. I will explain more, then I will give you the choice to stay or go, alright?" After receiving slight nods, he continued, "I ask you four, and then you two," he said, pointing to the original MBS, Sam, and Danny, "Have something in common. Tell me what it is."

Some answers here and there, all of which Mr. Benedict nodded to. But then he turned to Reynie, who guessed. "We're all alone."

Mr. Benedict tapped his nose. "For the most part." Then he turned to Team Phantom. "I know of your origins, and have a few questions I would like to ask. They might be a bit private. Can I ask them here?"

Danny nodded, as did the other two.

"Very good. Do you three, by any chance, happen to know Danny Phantom? If you do, it would be a great help if he would be willing to assist."

They froze. This was not what they had been expecting. Danny trusted this man. And, he was in need of help. Stupid heroic self.

"Yes." He said, shocking everyone, even Mr. Benedict, who had assumed as much. "We've… helped him. I give him my parents tools to use, and show him how to use them, while Sam and Tucker help him fight ghosts."

But, Danny wasn't ready to tell them his secret… unless they truly needed to know it.

"And that is why I am making an exception. I never let children with parents or who are not alone in on this. But you three have spunk. And we need that. You seven are our only hope."

(AN)

I understand it is short. But this is what I got out of that chapter. Just be sure to know that the next chapter, be in for (so far I've counted three) shockers. Just FYI.

Oh! And, any suggestions? Like, should Dani be in it? Maybe a ghost is working with Mr. Curtain? I don't know! I want to hear from you! It'll take four seconds! Just move the mousie over to the blue button and CLICK!


	5. Chapter 5

Phantom, the Senders, and the Messages

Eventually, each teen, and Constance, joined the team. They were sent to bed right after that; without the much wanted explanations. Team Phantom had been asked to stay a bit after.

"I know you want explanations, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I ask, can you get Phantom to assist?"

The others turned to Danny, which greatly surprised Mr. Benedict. He didn't even help with the missions, so, why was he the leader? Mr. Benedict was sure it would've been Samantha…

"I could ask. I might even get him to come and talk to you."

"That would be lovely. But, why on Earth would he leave Amity to talk to me?"

"If it concerns the safety of others, he could be here in seconds since he learned teleportation."

Mr. Benedict nodded. "Very well. I want him to be there when I give the explanations tomorrow, if that's alright."

The teens nodded and left Mr. Benedict alone, whom of which, had some interesting new suspicions about Danny Fenton.

(You all know about Reynie's and Mr. Benedict's talk, so I'm not gonna put that in here.)

They had gotten up early. The had feasted on breakfast, which was OJ, toast, eggs, milk, tea, fruits, and, because Tucker just needs meat, beacon and sausage.

It was badly storming outside.

"What do you think of the weather? Quite bad, isn't it? But, that doesn't matter. Danny, when will Phantom be here?"

"Uh… during the explanations." That was the time Danny would reveal himself. He had decided he could trust all of them, not only because they needed him, but because the whole world was counting on him. Again. Sometimes being a hero really sucked.

"Okay."

Milligan can up and mumbled something in her ear about being 'on duty.' And, after an explanation, she told them he was a body guard.

And, soon, Mr. Benedict came in, and, he was, annoyingly, followed by Number Two. She had changed out of her yellow suit, but still remained in yellow overalls. She… kinda reminded Danny of the Box Ghost.

Soon the topic of conversation fell to Number Two's lack of sleep, then fell to the bell in the second floor.

"If you ever hear that bell ring, gather onto the landing instantly. It will only be rung in dire circumstances, so don't dawdle, understood?" He received quiet nods. "Do any of you have questions?"

Immediately, the teens started asking about the 'project' and, of course, Phantom. He had apparently attracted Constance's attention, who was very included to meet him.

"The project. Yes, I will start with that. But, Danny, Sam, Tucker, where is Phantom?"

Danny visibly tensed.

"Well, he's here. That's for sure. He's actually been here all along…" He didn't know how to explain this…

"Is that so?" Mr. Benedict inquired.

Danny nodded. "You see, I, um, I'm Danny Phantom."

There. He said it. His secret was out. Cue screams…

"WHAT?"

Now.

"You're Danny Phantom?" Constance asked, suddenly very embarrassed. Kate just say there with her eye brows raised. Number Two froze in her tracks. Rhonda had dropped the tray of food she had been holding. Mr. Benedict had fallen asleep, luckily, though, he had been sitting at the table, so his head had just hanged down, bobbling.

Only Reynie, Sam, and Tucker weren't stunned. Okay, that's a lie. Reynie was… he just hadn't expected Danny to reveal himself.

"Prove it!" Constance demanded, standing up on the table. Danny shrugged and mumbled his catch phrase. Then he summoned the rings.

Everyone, besides Mr. Benedict, stared in awe as they watched the transformation.

"Dude…" Sticky said, suddenly afraid of his friend. Kate, on the other hand, was more ecstatic.

"This. Is. Awesome! I know Danny Phantom! I know I can't tell anyone, but this is still so cool! Oh my gosh!"

"Danny?" Was all Rhonda was able to say.

"I so wasn't expecting that." Number Two said.

"Hmph. Well, I didn't think he was all that great anyway." Constance said plainly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Then Mr. Benedict started to stir. Number Two quickly rushed over, helping him sit up. The next thing Mr. Benedict saw was a flying, glowing figure. But he didn't panic.

"Danny. That was a big shock I hadn't been expecting."

"Sorry."

"But, it's okay. I had been expecting something like this, but, yet it wasn't this. Would you please explain—"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Benedict, but I believe you must explain first. I revealed myself in full confidence when I could've easily made a duplicate. So, please."

Mr. Benedict gave a nod. He began, "Several years ago, during my research on the human brain, I came across something. Messages were being delivered directly into people's minds all over the world without their knowledge. They have a very powerful effect, an unfortunate effect. I have not learned everything about them yet, though. But I do know where they being delivered from and how. I also know what the Sender, the machine capable of sending those messages, is capable of."

Seeing their worried faces, he sighed heavily. "The messages are mainly being used on children."

"Why children?" Reynie interrupted.

"And what do these messages say?" Danny asked, floating back to his place on the ground. People tried no to stare.

"Well, finish with your breakfast and then I'll explain. Danny—"

"Breakfast can wait!" Sam and Kate cried.

"Only if all of you feel this way…" Mr. Benedict said. Not even Constance complained.

They were lead up to the third floor of the building. The room they entered was awfully messy. Tons of electronics were spread out across the room.

"Babies!" Tucker cried, running straight to a computer and hugging it. "I haven't seen one of you in so long!"

"Please step away from the computer, Tucker." Mr. Benedict said, now concerned about the boys love for electronics.

He walked over and pried Tucker away, but nicely. "Listen, carefully, children." And he turned the TV on.

Danny instantly felt weird. It was like he was battling Technus, but it was worse. A red-haired reporter was on the television. "They're calling for a change," she said, "and their cries are not falling on deaf ears. The president has repeated his agreement that something must be done, and soon. However, in the halls of Congress…"

Constance yawned, clearly annoyed. "I don't actually hear anything strange."

Danny did. It was so quiet. He had to strain to hear it… and he couldn't even understand it. Just mumbled voices; children voices.

"I hear it."

Everyone stated at Danny. Mr. Benedict's eyes widened. "Do you? I haven't even activated the Receiver… what do you hear?"

Danny ruffled his eye brows, trying to understand the voices. He couldn't. "I can't understand them… I have to strain to hear them, and my hearing is three times the average humans. It's muffled, children voices."

"Number Two, I want you to activate the Receiver. Kids, listen very closely."

Number Two began to fiddle with some controls, making the image go blurry.

Then, Danny understood it. It hurt, hurt so bad. His ears… he, he couldn't take it. He was forced back into human form to cancel out the super hearing, now his hearing still 1.5 times stronger than the average humans. It still hurt.

"What in the world?" Kate said, only catching certain words.

"_Market… to free to be… obfuscate…_"

Number Two fiddled with it more, no one realizing Danny's pained form. When Number Two finished, he clutched his head in his head, falling to the ground. It wasn't loud. No, that wasn't what bothered him. There was something else in those words, but he couldn't identify it.

"THE MISSING AREN'T MISSING, THEY'RE ONLY DEPARTED.

ALL MINDS KEEP ALL THOUGHTS– SO LIKE GOLD– CLOSELY GUARDED."

Danny howled. Then, and only then, did they notice him. Sam, being that she had a crush on him (though she'd never admit that) ran to his side. She pulled him into her arms, whispering stuff into his ears.

The next event happened so fast, Superman's eye wouldn't have been able to catch it.

Bonnie Halliwell, a blonde girl who's hair was in a high, right pony, appeared in white orbs of light. (Hence the phrase 'Orbing.' See Charmed.) She ran over to Danny, said something no one could make out, then vanished again in orbs.

Danny sighed with relief. He knew what was causing it, and, most importantly, he knew how to fix it.

The Halfa took a deep breath and blocked his Empathy link, completely ceiling off the emotions of others.

No one had a clue what was happening, except Sam and Tucker. If Bonnie had appeared, it meant it had to do with two things. One, and the most likely, he had a mission to do for Clockwork. Two, his Empathy. Since she had left without a message from Clockwork, it happened to be the second one.

His Empathy was becoming stronger.

After the little ordeal, and Danny had assured them he was okay, they returned to the task at hand. The messages.

"GROW THE LAWN AND MOW THE LAWN.

ALWAYS LEAVE THE TV ON.

BRUSH YOUR TEETH AND KILL THE GERMS.

POISON APPLES, POISON WORMS."

Danny had made it through without a single cringe.

The voices continued on giving creepy little verses. The voice never faltered, never stopped to breath. It just kept talking in a monotone.

Mr. Benedict switched off the TV.

A very confused Constance asked, "What does 'obfuscate' mean?" When Sticky gave her the dictionary version, Reynie shortened it.

"It means to make things confusing or muddled."

Mr. Benedict thanked them both, then turned to the whole group. " The child's voice is being transmitted to every electronic you can think of. That means the voice is being absorbed by million– possibly billions– of minds. In addition, the phrases can be translated into any language, polluting many more minds."

"How is all of this happening, Mr. Benedict?" Reynie inquired. "How are these messages being sent?"

"Simply put, the messages ride piggy-back on the signals. All signals." Tucker had a horrified expression. "And the Sender uses it to its advantage. It has figure out how to control the parts of the brain that attract these signals, making it able to control minds."

"So... the messages are just thoughts?" Sam asked, starting to understand.

"Correct. Though, these thoughts carry a great deal of freight."

Sticky asked, "But why children? Why does the sender use children to send the messages?"

"A devils also a necessary one. You see, child's thoughts can be slipped into the min so much easier and delicately. So much so, they are virtually unnoticeable."

"Ha! That's predictable!" Constance exclaimed bluntly. "Grown-ups never believed me capable of thoughts!"

Mr. Benedict nodded. "At any rate, I do believe the children are used as a sort of filter. Once the message passes through the minds of children, it becomes undetectable."

"So, nobody notices them at all?" Tucker asked, suddenly glad his mother had made him leave his electronics at home.

"Some might. But only vaguely aware. They attribute the uneasy sensation as something else, though, if that's the case. They might think they had had too much coffee, or it was an original idea."

"I don't ever recall anything like that happening." Constance said. "Like something's happening but you don't know what."

"Danny does," Tucker offered, hoping to lighten the moods a bit.

"Tucker!" Sam and Danny shouted angrily.

"What's he talking about?" Sticky asked, now concerned even more.

"I don't want to talk about it." Danny stated obviously, crossing his arms. Sam frowned at the Halfa. Although she knew what Tucker had done was wrong, she knew that Danny should give tell them, just so they might have an idea about what they're facing.

"Danny, I think you should tell them."

Danny looked up at his best friend, guilt written all over his eyes. If Sam was willingly to let them hear what happened, Danny could tell them. "Alright, just don't judge me."

So, he began to tell them about Freakshow and his ghost-controlling staff. All the things he was told he had done, but didn't remember. But he remembered what he did to Sam, and he told them about all of that, too.

"That was quite fascinating, Danny." Mr. Benedict said, having even more respect for the boy. "You fought back a full-blown mind control. You are, as you _all_ are, a very nice addition to the team."

Danny smiled, only glad he wasn't being thought of as 'the bad guy' anymore.

"If you fought against—" Kate said, completely intrigued by the subject. "Wait a minute! Did you say Freakshow used ghost performers in his circus? I knew it couldn't be that good!"

The Halfa grew a bright shade of pink. This was a lot of praise he was receiving. He new, thought, he didn't deserve it.

"Well," Danny said, "Maybe we should get back to the project? That's way more important then my well being."

Mr. Benedict, though he didn't agree with Danny, nodded. "Yes, well, all of your minds have been resisting these messages."

"Is that why you asked if we watched TV or listened to the radio?" Reynie asked.

Mr. Benedict tapped his nose. "Precisely."

Constance huffed. "Still not seeing the big and bad part. So what if adults are receiving kids' thoughts? Big deal."

"We haven't gotten to the 'big deal' part yet, Constance. Something is coming. Something dreadful. Sure, the messages are connected to it. But that's the calm before the storm. What's coming is far worse."

"Great." Danny mumbled, his mental barriers starting to weaken. He can only force down Empathy for so long…

"Wh- what is it?" Stocky stumbled, absolutely terrified of the answer.

"I don't know."

Wait… he was joking, right? Did he really not know?

"Ah. I see your confusion. I guess I should've said, I don't exactly know. But I suspect it has to do with the disappearances of good men and women."

"People are missing?" Tucker asked, now utterly horrified.

Mr. Benedict nodded sadly. "Vanished. Completely just disappeared. Nobody even cared. They just thought they had gone into an early retirement or had went on a vacation."

"' The missing aren't missing, they're only departed…'" Sam repeated soulfully. "That's what it meant! It's telling people not to care!"

Mr. Benedict tapped his nose. "Perfect!"

"Okay. I get it. Messages are being sent out into people's brains, people gone missing, and a ghost kid. But, how are we in danger?" Constance said, not wanting to let the matter go. "You said we were all in danger… that was an exaggeration, was it not?"

Mr. Benedict shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Constance. You are all in incredible danger, even as we speak."

And, as if on cue, the bells on the second floor rang.

!


	6. Chapter 6

**Mouse in a Maze, Men in a Maze. Two of Clockwork's toys.**

Instantly, Mr. Benedict fell asleep, just barely being caught by Number Two. Constance had fled the room, followed by the Halfa. He couldn't explain it. He just felt linked to Constance. But, hey, right now they were running to the second floor landing.

The little girl stumbled a bit, actually, she stumbled a lot. Danny, fed up, lifted her up and continued to run.

When they reached there, Danny set Constance down, covering her mouth so she wouldn't make a sound. But Constance struggled.

She was scared. She was terrified. She felt… exposed.

Once she managed to escape Danny's grasp, she did so by hitting his hand, she sprinted into the maze.

Danny quickly pursued her, cursing in his mind. They should've stayed with the group.

Then they heard them. Quick, yet delicate, footsteps approaching the room two door ways. They bolted.

Running as fast as they could, Constance's hand in Danny's, they weaves in and out of doorways. A quick buzzing sound was heard as Danny felt Constance drop unconscious.

"Not good!" He said, just as he heard the buzzing. It had hit him right in the shoulder, sending volts of electric charge into the Halfa's body.

Danny didn't fall into darkness, though. Plasmius' volts were ten times as powerful, and he could withstand four of those. The raven-haired teen plucked what looked like a wire out of his shirt.

"Aw. The little kitty is still awake." A man's voice echoed. He had a very strong cologne on, the sent of vanilla. What ever it was Danny had expected to see, it was anything but this. Two very well dressed business men, one over six feet tall, looking back at him, smiling warm smiles.

But Danny wasn't fooled. He lifted up Constance and backed away, only to bump into a corner.

"You scared, boy? Well, this won't hurt much if you just remain still." He rolled up his sleeve revealing a bright, silver watch.

"What did you do to her?" Danny demanded, referring to the limp girl in his hands.

"We just gave her a small jolt. But you obviously were unaffected by it, so we at have to give you a larger one." In one swift movement, a wire flung out of the watch and towards Danny.

But Danny was quicker.

He ducked to the ground, diving into a roll, dodging the attack. He rode in between the men's legs, making him look. Danny, who had stood up, Constance still in his arms, kicked the men's butt, making him roll into the wall. The Halfa felt a pain of guilt. He didn't like hurting humans, the GiW and Freakshow as the only exceptions.

The other man watched as the mystery boy no-handedly defeated his partner. They had gone through years of intense training… and one was taken down by a teen boy holding a toddler. This infuriated him.

"You just made an awful choice, boy!" The business man readied his watch, ten thousand volts charging. But Danny could withstand three times that many on a single blow. That was what shocked the man when his wire hit Danny square in the test.

The Halfa contracted in pain, but refused to be taken down. Clutching his teeth, he regained himself, standing up straight, ignoring the pain in his blood.

"How—" the man stumbled, no very afraid of the boy. "How did you—" but he quickly snapped out of his shock when he saw the boy sprint in a random direction.

Danny sprinted, using his ghostly vision to see through the dark and look for the yellow arrows. When he no longer could hear the man, he turned him and Constance invisible. And he did it just on time, too.

Apparently, they had three men in the building. This one had been in black camouflage, trying to conceal himself so he could sneak up on someone. But who?

His friends. Reynie, Kate, Sam, Sticky, and Tucker were wondering around without a flashlight. Milligan was with them, probably looking for him and Constance.

Danny didn't realize how long he had stood still in that place until he saw his other man approaching the hidden one.

"Careful, Tom. If all of those rascals are like the one I had to get…" he left it hanging. But Tom wanted to know what was so bad.

"I thought there were two? And what happened that made you come back empty handed?"

"That boy was hit with ten-thousand volts."

"And? Where is he?"

"That's the thing, Tom. All he did was cringe. That colt would've knocked a full-grown adult out cold. And, he took Jason down with pure strategy."

Tom let out a quiet whistle. If they could get this boy… he would be perfect for Mr. Curtain. They had gone through years of intense training just not to pass out from a pressure point. And they couldn't stay awake from that kind of power.

"What about the kid?" Tom asked, remembering the second child.

"Seven-hundred volts knocked her out cold. But the boy… Tom, he did a summersault while holding her. And he shot to his feet directly after that. Tom, he knocked out Jason kicking him in the rear!"

If they weren't on a mission, they would've continued talking. But, the other group of kids were about to turn the corner.

"Other way, guys! I got this!" Danny shouted, losing his invisibility.

Instantly, the two men shot around to see Danny ten feet away from them. "Tom! That him!"

But, instead of panicking, they both smiled. And it wasn't the warm smile he had received earlier. It was pure cold, dark. Tom quickly activated his watch, charging it to the highest, (Fifteen-thousand) and, as he did, his partner did also. Thirty thousand volts of pure electricity.

And Danny knew it.

When the wires shot out, Danny did a backflip, then, kicking off the wall behind him, tucked into a roll and landed behind the men.

Then he realized he had forgotten Constance.

Muttering a curse, Danny quickly crawled under the confused men, moving out of the way of the sparking wires.

However, Tom recovered when he saw him. Moving his wrist, the wire followed, slamming into Danny's rib cage.

He collapsed. The Halfa hadn't been expecting that kind out move. But he was still well aware of the task at hand.

Danny pulled his feet up, catching the mans in his and pulled forward, tripping him. The wire was forced back into the watch, giving Danny some relief.

The other man watched this unfold in awe. This was something that Mr. Curtain would be told as soon as they got back.

Danny had made his way to the toddler, slowly and shakily standing up with her in his arms once more. Then, he bolted before the other man could have a chance to catch him.

Reynie, Kate, Tucker, Sticky, Sam, and Milligan hadn't left as Danny had told them. They had simply watched, all 100% intrigued by the events. And when Danny had bolted, Milligan had swiftly shot the remaining man with a tranquilizer.

Danny, meanwhile, was following the arrows to get to the landing. He had thought that if they had done what he asked, that's where they'd've gone. But he was proven wrong.

Danny set Constance down behind the coach that they'd been taken to during testing. Then, he ran off to find his friends.

As he sprinted down the hall, he tried to call his rings to allow him to transform, but, because the electric charge had shorted out his ghost half, he was left without his ghost side.

So he released his mind, letting it flood with all emotions.

Three people were all knocked out. Another six were all relieved. Then, there was an emotion of annoyed. Danny had guessed Constance had woken up.

He let the six emotions guide him to his friends. When he got to them, they were all smiling widely, yet worriedly. They asked if he was okay, he said he was. Which was a lie. They began to walk to the landing when Danny felt someone's emotions kick into horsepower.

Danny shot the group worried looks, then took off running. He new they would follow, so, instead, he turned invisible and intangible and took off in the directions of the emotions.

Jason shot up with pure fury. How had a 14-year-old boy defeated him? How had he been so darn flexible and yet so agile without any of the hard-core training they had to face? Where were is partners?

He jumped to his feet. Jason glanced at his watch, glad it was still at full power. But, maybe he wouldn't need it. Maybe those two idiots had gotten the job done without him.

But he wasn't counting on that.

The boy… he was going to pay. Sure, he was going to give him a very nasty jolt of a few thousand volts. But then Mr. Curtain would take care of him. He laughed just thinking about it.

What he wasn't aware of was that the boy was only a few feet behind him.

"And what are you laughing at?" Danny asked bravely.

The man smirked before turning around to face the teen. "Just how much Mr. Curtain will love you."

He activated the watch, which Danny so wasn't in the mood for. He turned intangible, not really caring about his secret at the moment.

"How the heck did you do that, boy?"

"I'm sorry. We never had proper introductions. My names Danny, Danny Fenton. And you are?"

The mans mouth twitched. This boy wasn't even afraid of him. And that scared him; but he refused to show it. "Jason Parkisten." Danny nodded.

"And who's this Mr. Curtain?"

"Oh, shut up, kid. Stay still and this won't hurt. Long." He recharged his watch and shot it again, this time with even more volts. But Danny remained intangible.

Danny was getting bored. He wanted to take him in for questioning. If they could find out who this Mr. Curtain is, then he could be done with this mission quicker. And help Constance with her incoming telepathic abilities.

Danny had remained intangible as the sparking watch flew past him, or, through him, really. To be honest, Danny was getting sick of this. Sure, he missed the occasional fights between him and other ghosts, but, this? HA! It was too easy.

Danny walked forward, hoping to intimidate the man known as Jason. But his plan didn't work the way he had hoped.

Jason is a fast learner. Very observant, vary clever, and knows how to turn the tables on his victim. And when he saw the boy walk forwards grinning, well, he knew something was up. So, he did what any sane person would do if you saw an item fly through someone; he ran.

Danny was shocked by this. Yes, he had wanted to scare him a little, but he didn't want him to run! How was he supposed to find him now? Oh… duh. Danny followed his emotions, letting him just sense the direction they were coming from. Then, something happened he hadn't been expecting.

He had been shock. With electricity. Only then did Danny realize he had lost his intangibility when he was following the emotions.

The volts in the shock were over twenty-thousand, something not even most ghosts could withstand without being forced back into the ghost zone. He let out an ear-piercing wail; unintentionally calling forward his ghost half, forcing it to resurface just to avoid passing out from the electricity.

He received three gasps.

Shooting around to face those who gasped, Danny was faced with even more business men to deal with! That guy had called for back-up. Not good.

But Danny wasn't one to give up. Not now, not ever.

Quickly with new adrenaline, Danny flew behind the new group of men and pinched a place on their necks, making them fall to the ground. They might be able to withstand normal blows to pressure points, but not when there's any amount of ghost strength.

Danny ignored more shocked gasps and grabbed three of the unmoving men, phasing them through the ceiling. He ended up in the dining room. And, instantly, Danny began to tie up the men with ecto-ropes. He sure hated that power, but it was needed.

Leaving the limp bodies, Danny floated back down to the maze invisibly.

It was empty. No one was hiding in the corners, no one was moving from room to room. It was pure silence. Quiet. Too quiet.

And as soon as that thought popped into his mind, Danny heard it.

Screams.

The men had left him and gone after the others… man, they were good. A million times better then the GiW.

Fast than sound, Danny shot upward to aid his friends.

Reynie and everyone else had taken refuge in one of the spare bedrooms; well, besides Milligan. Anyway, the kids were hiding out under covers, even though they knew it would do them no good.

They all panicked when a wail, a howl, broke out. But, just as quickly as it had started, it ended.

Five minutes passed. Then ten. They were at the twelfth minutes when they heard very quiet footsteps heading their way.

Then, the men entered the room. One of them broke out laughing at the kids weak attempt to hide. One scowled and muttered, "Pathetic."

Jason, for he was the one who thought it was 'pathetic', stepped forward, large sacks in his and his partners hand.

"Kiddies, c'mon, now. We all know that hiding like that is completely intolerable; so, pleases, come out with your hands up. They obeyed, for they preferred to keep their heads. "Good, now, if you stay still, this won't hurt. Long."

"NO!" Danny instantly flew through the wall, crashing into Jason.

"Twit!" He screamed. "I don't care who the hell you think you are, but I swear to god, even after you have no memory of this, I will make it my life's mission to ruin yours!"

Danny smirked. "In case you haven't caught on, I'm Danny. Danny Phantom. As in, ghost. I'M HALF-DEAD!"

Let's just say, no one in the room took that well. Sam and Tucker hadn't even thought that Danny might be dead. The other kids had just assumed he was a kid with awesome powers, but, half dead?

And Jason? It was like busting a dam that held his sanity. So, Danny was able to tie up the men quite easily. (Sorry, I need to finish this.)

One hour later, Danny had eight men bound and ready to talk. He hadn't even threatened them or caused any internal damage! That made Danny very happy to know he hadn't seriously hurt anyone.

What they had learned? Well, Mr. Benedict has a twin, evil brother who uses a disastrous machine called the whisperer to look into the minds of children. The men had been put through hard training and endless shifts of kidnapping and hunting. Oh, and that Mr. Curtain was the head owner of a school called L.I.V.E. Yeah, that was the most helpful piece of information.

So, now with the men tied in actual ropes, Mr. Benedict called the police, or, the army, whichever you prefer, and told them everything. Yes, many were skeptical, but, he was able to strike a deal: One man's confession and Mr. Curtain is as good as gone.

And it worked out well enough. Now, the government knows Mr. Curtain is evil and has people out looking for him 24/7. Oh, did I mention he escaped the police with some of his men? Yeah, that's important.

Anyway, things sort of went uphill from there. Mr. Benedict never told them Danny Phantom had even helped, keeping Danny's secret a secret. And… something else happened.

Milligan got his memory back.

And, apparently, he was Kate's father! HA! Who knew?

LINE BREAK! XD

Danny sat at his desk at the school he was staying at in Stonetown. It had been a month since the event and Danny still couldn't push those thoughts out of his mind. Mrs. Foley had demanded to know why her child and his friends had been missing for almost 48 hours and received a (almost) full explanation.

All in all, everything was back to normal. Well, almost.

Team Phantom had to remain in Stonetown where the danger was at a minimal. AS IF! Ever since Danny had let the idiot Box Ghost back into the Zone, he started telling all ghosts where Danny was 'hiding.' So, now he was back on superhero duty.

This is as good as life gets for Danny Fenton.

Clockwork smiled at this sight. This turned out much better then the other way it would've went. And, it was because of a mistake he made. He made a slight chuckle upon recalling what he'd forgotten about.

How is it that you forget about a stitch in time? Literally? Especially, if you know everything.

It was cute. How did that saying go? 'A Stitch in Time Saves Nine?' It seemed to fit this scene just right.

'A Penny Spent is a Penny Earned,' was Clocky's favorite, though. He did that all too often.

Clockwork pressed a button on his time staff. "All is as it should be," he said.

**I had to add in a theme for my story. It fits, though. REVIEW!**

**Check out my other stories!**

**Odd One Out: A school for Halfas**

**Mixed Fates Collide: An Avatar and DP crossover**


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